Contemporary costume design is often mistaken for a matter of shopping, but designers at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival described it as a demanding storytelling discipline shaped by research, character development and historical detail.

Molly Rogers, who worked as an assistant costume designer on The Devil Wears Prada and designed its sequel, said that people who describe their main interest as shopping are unlikely to understand the profession. Rogers joined Ellen Mirojnick, Arianne Phillips, Linda Muir, Amy Roth and Marci Rodgers for a Costume Design Roundtable moderated by Variety’s Jazz Tangcay.

Mirojnick said contemporary costume work can document a period and its culture, even when the character is heightened for the screen. Marci Rodgers recalled studying New York street style during her work on Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It, asking to observe background casting so she could understand how people dressed. For Nola Darling, Prince’s influence appeared through touches of purple, while thrift stores helped define the character’s wardrobe.

Rodgers also described the challenge of designing for films such as Barbershop, where clothing needed to reflect both the Chicago community and the era. She noted that actors’ ideas can change after a table read, making contemporary design particularly difficult to plan.

Phillips said costume designers must often advocate for their characters when executives or actors arrive with fixed ideas about specific clothes. She also warned that product placement is becoming more influential as luxury brands participate in film financing, potentially creating tension between commercial demands and the story.

The designers discussed how those principles shaped their recent projects. For Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, Mirojnick created more than 5,300 costumes and used burned red tones for Anne Hathaway’s Queen Penelope. A blue dress worn when Odysseus returns was designed to function like armor, with tight pleating, a high neckline and a golden necklace reinforcing Penelope’s strength.

For Werwulf, Muir researched the social importance of wool in Viking times, when access to large quantities of the material indicated wealth. She said the production had to find specialists capable of making fabrics, hats, jewelry, buttons and belts while working with a limited range of historical styles.

Phillips explained that The Invite used a single costume change to reveal more about Cruz as the story progressed. Olivia Wilde’s character, Angela, is a stay-at-home artist who has lost her creativity, so Phillips worked with production designer Jade Healy to make her blend into the walls. A lack of harmony between the characters’ blue tones became a visual expression of their relationship being out of sync.

Rogers also discussed the pressure of designing The Devil Wears Prada 2 after the lasting impact of the original film. The sequel brings back Andy’s cerulean sweater, although Anne Hathaway cut off its sleeves during filming. Rogers said the altered garment ultimately became a vest that supported the menswear influence in Andy’s new look.

Amy Roth spoke about recreating the visual language of Rocky for I Play Rocky. Because the original film did not have a costume designer, Roth had no formal costume archive to consult and instead relied on the film’s imagery and collective memory. The hat, leather jacket, gloves and bouncing ball were central to the recreation, while an original jacket found on eBay helped guide the production.

Roth added that actor Anthony Ippolito actively contributed to the process, studying Sylvester Stallone’s posture and bringing reference images of clothing to recreate for the role.

Rogers also described the research behind Michael and its recreation of the Thriller video. Her research book ran to 800 pages, and she learned that Michael Jackson’s iconic Levi’s jeans were originally white before being dyed red. Levi’s supplied several pairs for the production, while a Pantone book helped reproduce the different red tones in the beaded jacket. Rogers said the zombie dancers’ details were equally important, including the placement of pearls on the character in the pink dress.

Sources: Variety.